One week down, many more to go.

It has been such an overwhelming week, but I have to remind myself that I asked for this. I want to be a doctor, I want to help animals, I want to dedicate my life to them. I just have to remember each and every amazing, adorable creature I have ever met in my life, and tell myself that they are worth all my time and stress and all the studying and the exhaustion and all the dang money that I am spending. This is where I belong and this is what I am meant to be doing.

Part of the reason I am so exhausted is the fact that I have to haul so much stuff around. My backpack is stuffed with notes, books, school supplies, and veterinary equipment. Since I have an anatomy lab, one that involves the stinky act of dissection, I also have to carry extra clothes and shoes around. I always pack a lunch and on certain days, I haul a box of bones as well. It's tiring and awkward, but it must be done. I do have a locker on campus, but I still have to carry everything around when going to and from bus stops and onto and off the buses. So not fun.

Another reason I am tired? My schedule. Classes from nine to five on Mondays, eight to five on Tuesdays and Thursdays, eight to three on Wednesdays, and ten to noon on Fridays (although on certain weeks, there are extra class meetings or exams scheduled for Friday afternoons). To make it to class by eight, I have to wake up at six, get ready, walk Canelo, eat breakfast, pack a lunch, and catch the first bus at seven, which takes me to main campus. From there, I grab a second bus to the vet school. I usually arrive by 7:35, which gives me time to take all my junk to my locker and drop my lunch off in the lounge. In the afternoons, when I am done with classes, I usually have to wait a while for both buses since they aren't as well coordinated as they are in the mornings. This means waiting around in 100 degree weather... draining! By the time I get home, I just wanna zonk out, but I can't because, believe me, there is plenty of studying to be done. Oy!

I am still excited, though! I am going to learn so much and the people I have met are all so nice and incredibly smart and talented. Oh! I am just thrilled about my anatomy lab partners! They are both cool as can be, we communicate well and work very well together. You can meet the nicest people in the world, but that does not guarantee that you will be able to work well with them. We lucked out and I could not be happier.

In other happy news, I will be making my first, albeit short, trip back to Dallas in one week! Leaving with Abner on Friday afternoon, spending Saturday there, then coming back with my brother and Dustin on Sunday so that we can all go to the football game that night! I can not wait! Thinking positively and looking forward to the littlest of things. That's how I am going to make it through vet school.

***Thanks, Cristina, for encouraging me to write this!***